With the latest research released by Pampers Active Fit revealing “that parents spend on average 40 minutes each week looking for household items moved by their babies as part of play time.” I wondered if this is actually a very conservative figure.

I know I seemed to spend an age looking for stuff. I’m not sure if it was a case of Mumnesia (any new mum will confirm this is a genuine affliction! ) my offspring trying to be helpful and tidying things away, or simply he knew how to wind me up.

Pampers have worked out that parents are “spending on average a staggering 2080 minutes [or 34 hours] over the course of a year looking for toys and household items their baby has lost.”

I wondered how this time could be better spent…

Watching 20 movies – non stop!

Having sex with your partner (2080 times)

Catching up on much needed sleep

I found that as time went on, I spent more time looking for things. As my baby grew into a toddler, things seemed to migrate that bit further. The things that disappeared changed too, from dummies and toys, to the car keys, my mobile phone, money, food from the fridge, and yes even his bike!

“The most common places toddlers hide items, which are then found by parents, are down or under the back of the sofa (40%), in the baby’s toy chest (14%), under the table (10%), in the pram (9%) and behind the TV (8%).

The strangest places parents have found missing household items or small toys include the washing machine or tumble dryer (one in five), the fridge (one in six) and stuck down the toilet (one in ten).

The most common items to be found down the back of the sofa are toys (nearly two thirds of those surveyed), unwanted snacks (six in ten) and dummies (just over a half of all respondents).”

It all sounds so frighteningly familiar!

I was wondering if I can have back all the time spent on looking for things, probably not.

What’s the strangest thing your baby has hidden/lost and where did you find it?